Bjølvo

Bjølvo power plant is located in Ålvik in Kvam Municipality in Hordaland County. The power plant uses the height of fall between Lake Bjølsegrøvatnet and Hardangerfjord.

Lake Bjølsegrøvatnet is regulated between 880 and 862 metres above sea level. Water is also transferred from several stream intakes and from Kastdalen pumping station.

The original power plant was commissioned in 1918 with three turbines of 9 MW each, and the plant was expanded in 1938 and 1972. The Norwegian state took over the plant in 1964 as a result of right of reversion. Bjølvefossen AS leased the plant until 1997 when Statkraft took over operation and began planning a new plant. The new power plant began production in 2004 with an installed capacity of 98 MW.

New Bjølvo power plant is located inside the mountain with an access tunnel of 1200 metres from the reception building to the outlet. It was decided to demolish the old power plant after an extensive historical documentation was completed in 2014 and 2015. For more information on this, click here (in Norwegian).

The new Bjølvo power plant was developed to provide energy for the Elkem Bjølvefossen metal smelter in Ålvik.